Month: May 2017

Website/social media: http://kgrachow.com/&nbsp;
I also use my Facebook page for promoting my work which can be found at Keith Grachow and also have an On A Planet Named Up In The Sky page for me and my mom’s children’s book series. You can also find my comic book work at http://www.kikamikacomics.com/Tell me a little about yourself: I’m a professional illustrator that does comic books, children’s books, and illustration work for companies. I also teach workshops for kids and adults on Visual Storytelling.How long have you been drawing? Since as long as I could hold a pencil.

How did you get into illustrating? My parents owned an advertising agency when I was a kid, and when I turned thirteen they let me draw a cover for a tv guide like magazine they put out. It was terribly amateurish, but super cool to see my art in print for the first time. I’d always been drawing, but that was my first taste of commercial work, so I think that idea stuck in my head when I went to university. In school I studied fine arts with a concentration in graphic design, so I took jobs related to that in college and after I graduated. I did some spot illustration and concept art as well as toy package design but it wasn’t really making me happy.

What I really always wanted to do was comic book illustration, so about 10 years ago, I went back to school to focus on illustrating for comic books. I’m so glad I did, because it’s been really gratifying to create stories with my mom and other writers and to do illustrations for families and friends. And to make a living at it!

What is your favorite book you have worked on? Whatever I’m usually working on becomes my favourite book most of the time, however if I had to choose, it’s probably my latest Up-In-The-Sky book Above A Planet Named Up-In-The-Sky. I think me and my mom knocked that one out into space (pun intended)!

What illustrators do you like? I was classically trained in fine arts, so I always loved the paintings of the renaissance artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, but illustrators really came into their own during the golden age of commercial art in the early parts of the 20th century and that’s where I’d begin to choose the ones I like. So artists like Mucha, NC Wyeth, Norman Rockwell really inspired me. There were also classic comic strip artists I liked such as Alex Raymond, Austin Briggs, Hal Foster and classic comic book artists like Joe Kubert, Wally Wood, Jack Kirby, and John Buscema to name a few. Modern artists like Mike Mignola Bill Sienkiewicz, Lee Weeks, Dan Panosian and many many others are also in this list. There are just too many to count!

I’ve been making and crafting things since I was very young. I’ve always enjoyed making something out of nothing. When the first Star Wars movie came out I built a life size R2-D2 out of a barrel, a hair dryer dome and and some wood. I also sculpted a Darth Vader mask out of plaster to wear as a costume.

– why did you create MST3K replicas?

I started making the MST3K robots shortly after I became a fan of the show when it first aired back in the 1990’s. It was obvious that the robots were made out of all kinds of junk parts so I started searching for all the correct pieces to make each robot. Eventually I got most of the parts and built my own versions of Crow and Tom Servo.

– what is your favorite thing about MST3K?

I’ve always loved the jokes used on MST3K. It fits in with my sense of humor. Also they do so many jokes with every episode that it’s easy to find some you like.

The best advice I can give young people is what ever you are passionate about just do it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it or discourage you from trying. The hockey player Wayne Gretzky once said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. If you really want to do something you have to take your shot.

Wow in the World is a new podcast by Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas. I know them from Kids Place Live and met both last summer! They are super funny in real life. I had to help Guy with his Penguin facts though.

The podcast has them sharing interesting facts in a way that kids will like. For instance, they had a picnic in a landfill. I bet they really weren’t but you have fun pretending they are.

Kids are really curious and this show helps them. I like to listen in the morning while eating breakfast. I wish there were more episodes already! I guess this also teaches patience.

I recommend this podcast to kids and parents a like! I give it an infinite number of stars!

Website/Social Media:
joshuadraws.com
I also have the handle of joshuadraws on almost every social network. Except for Instagram and Youtube, that’s joshuadrawswithink. (Boo)

A little about myself:
I’m a graphic designer by day, and a storyteller by night.
I self published my first book in 2013, called “The Rocket”. Immediately following that, I was asked to illustrate the fun “Scratch9” series by author Rob Worley. That book was published by Hermes Press in 2015.

How long have you been drawing? Like most kids, I was sketching as early as five. (At least that’s what I remember) But as I got older, I realized that we all didn’t keep up with drawing everyday. I just loved making art, and drawing the cartoons I was watching. Even now as an “adult”, I’m still drawing everyday, and thankfully seeing improvement for it.

How did you get into comics? I think the first memories I have of loving and reading comics, was tearing through the newspapers to read Peanuts and Garfield.
I read so many other ones, but those two influenced me in massive ways. It wasn’t until our family moved to Germany, that I realized floppy issues of comics even existed. I couldn’t read the German newspapers very well, and the military newspapers didn’t carry comics regularly. Thankfully the AAFES stores did have bookstores, where a limited supply of comics were carried. My first ever purchase was an Archie Comics Ninja Turtles book. (I might still have it.) After that, I was hungry for more, which led to me finding superhero books. (A genre that I thought comics were all about until several years ago)

Favorite comic that I have worked on? That’s tough. I loved what I learned from “The Rocket”, and I loved working with Rob on “Scratch9”! I’d hate to give that classic answer of “Whatever I’m working on now”, but I’m super excited for the new book that I’m starting.
(Does that count as an answer?) (Yes!)

Why do I think kids should read comics/graphic novels?(Sorry if I get on a soapbox here, and feel free to edit as you see fit, or if this feels too redundant. Seriously.)
I think EVERYONE should be reading comics and graphic novels. Old guard librarians tend to think of comics as a jumping off point to “real books”, but they fail to realize that comics read completely different than the traditional novels they push so hard on younger readers. Comics engage both sides of your brain at the same time, it’s a complex skill to build and master. People who struggle with using both sides of their brain tend to write off comics as garbage because they can’t read them, literally.

To be honest, I also struggle with this. I have a hard time engaging in conversation at a table, while I’m drawing, or reading. I’m a single task guy, but I’m also a single sided brain guy. Reading comics is a skill that I work to perfect everyday, because it’s full on brain engagement that taxes me if I do it too much. When I read articles or pages without pictures, or a visual narrative, I force myself to slow down, process what’s happening, understand it, and move on.

There are also TONS of things that comics do so well, that ONLY comics can do! They can create visual flow on a page that drive a story. They can tell us all about a scene without saying a word. They can convey sound effects with uncanny pizzaz. They can universally communicate a single idea across language barriers by using visual cues and icons.

Whew…okay, I think that’s enough for now. (I agree with you and didn’t edit your response at all!)

What are some all ages comics you suggest?
Ohhhhh I love talking about other artists’ work!
– Tyson Hesse’s Diesel.
– Anything Ben Hatke. Like Zita the Spacegirl, and just read everything.
– Jeff Smith is an obvious choice with Bone. (The book that convinced me to give making comics a try.)
– Walt Kelly’s Pogo. (It’s vintage, but it’s so rich.)
– Christian Slade’s Korgi series. (All in pantomime, with no words. It’s a joy to read.)
– Anything Faith Erin Hicks does. For real. Friends with Boys, Superhero Girl, and – – Anything Can Possibly Go Wrong are GREAT places to start.
– I’m not sure if Usagi Yojimbo is all ages, but from what I’ve read, it is so far.
– Jay Fosgitt’s Bodie Troll is delightful.
– It’d be dishonest of me not to recommend a Japanese manga, so I’d read Yotsuba, by Kiyohiko Azuma. It’s a charming series about all the new experiences in our world, from the perspective of five year old Yotsuba.

This is the picture book version of the movie that I love. I have even been Totoro for Halloween!

Totoro is a forest spirit. A little girl meets and they become friends. She had just moved to the village. Her mom is in the hospital. Each time she is supposed to come home, it gets delayed till the next week. The girl misses her Mom. Totoro helps her be happy.

I liked that is the book version of the movie. I can read the story when I don’t have time to watch it.

I love the artwork. Studio Ghibli is my favorite animation studio. My mom loves it too. She is wearing a Totoro shirt right now.